Power liftgate problems

My mother-in-law mentioned to me last night that she's having a problem with her out of warranty '07 RX350 when trying to open the power liftgate. My poor old '01 RX doesn't have that fancy option so I'm not familar with what to look at.

I haven't looked at it myself but here's what I know:

The problem has been going on for about a year. The lliftgate goes up about 2 inches, stops, & goes back down. Over the year it's gotten worse to the point now where it rarely works (but it will open all the way once in a while). Most of the time now she manually opens it. The closing operation works fine.

Does the power liftgate have any history of motor issues (and is replacing a DYI)? Not sure where to start investigating.

Thanks in advance.

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My mother-in-law mentioned to me last night that she's having a problem with her out of warranty '07 RX350 when trying to open the power liftgate. My poor old '01 RX doesn't have that fancy option so I'm not familar with what to look at.

I haven't looked at it myself but here's what I know:

The problem has been going on for about a year. The lliftgate goes up about 2 inches, stops, & goes back down. Over the year it's gotten worse to the point now where it rarely works (but it will open all the way once in a while). Most of the time now she manually opens it. The closing operation works fine.

Does the power liftgate have any history of motor issues (and is replacing a DYI)? Not sure where to start investigating.

Thanks in advance.

The liftgate has a 'sensor' to detect any resistance. It then ceases to rise and goes back down. I don't know how the sensor works in the Lexus, but in a BMW the window sensor works through 'sensing' (measuring) the amps. (power) used by the motor. If the amps rise, it means the motor is making a greater effort because of some resistance, and the motor stops lifting. The system is very sensitive, because it is meant to prevent any accident (hand or head contact) immediately.
Since the hatch closes fine, I would therefore assume that something is impeding the smooth rise of the hatch. Possibly lubrication of the hinges or adjustment/replacement of the gas struts would solve the problem. (Lubrication to ease the effort of the motor; the struts to maintain original apparent 'weight' of the door.) Alternatively, maybe the 'sensor' could/should be adjusted to be less sensitive?
Good luck - and plse. let us know....

Had the same problem on my wife's 2005. I greased the hatch struts with silcone grease(same grease used for spark plug wires), where the stainless steel tube comes out. I also did the weatherstriping as well. Solved the problem.

Went over to her house tonight & first duplicated the problem - the power liftgate would barely go up an inch before stopping & going back down. Then I put silicone on both struts and it worked perfectly.

While I might use white lithium grease spray on door hinges and such, I would not use that on the hood and hatch struts, IMHO. The silicone spray will help keep the gaskets from deteriorating and I have seen the white lithium grease dry out in the heat down here in FL.

I also use the 3M silicone spray on the window track trim. Spray into a rag and use that to wipe the trim pieces as well as the struts with an extra quick spray on the strut gasket where the piston enters the cartridge. A few manual close and open motions to work the silicone in a bit and you are ready to go.

Quick note that the dealer found it necessary to replace mine which hold up the hood on my RX330 while it was still under warranty. I had not complained, guess it was something they noticed while working on another problem I was having.

Moved furniture in my rx350, 2009 and couldn't close the hatch. Locking mechanism then locked up with the hatch in the open position. As lock itself is in the closed position, I cannot even manually close the rear hatch. I checked fuses, pushed the glove box off/on button, removed the hatch emergency release cover and tried manually pressing the release...all to no avail. How do I fix this. None of the switches (remote, driver's switch, hatch switch) seem to have any power. Any ideas????
Initialize it?? How???

Moved furniture in my rx350, 2009 and couldn't close the hatch. Locking mechanism then locked up with the hatch in the open position. As lock itself is in the closed position, I cannot even manually close the rear hatch. I checked fuses, pushed the glove box off/on button, removed the hatch emergency release cover and tried manually pressing the release...all to no avail. How do I fix this. None of the switches (remote, driver's switch, hatch switch) seem to have any power. Any ideas????
Initialize it?? How???